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The advantages of this scheme are by no means illusive either to the police force or to the Government. To the latter, it means greater economy of administration by a saving of all or part of the retiring allowances, an item which will otherwise become much larger in the immediate future; while to the men themselves it means a moderate competency for their old age, to be attained for the most part by a very slight amount of self-denial; and last, but by no means least, the pension looming in the distance will materially assist in increasing the discipline, good conduct, and efficisncy of the force. My proposal, summarised, will be as follows : (1.) That a pension scheme on the basis of Schedule VII. should be introduced into the force, whereby every man now a member shall be encouraged to insure, so as to obtain a pension of not less than £50 per annum at the age of sixty years. (2.) That insurance shall be compulsory in the case of every man who may join after the institution of the said scheme. As an alternative to the system of pensions I would suggest that all men joining the police after the end of October, 1887, should be required to insure in the Government Insurance Office, so as to receive at least £300 at or before the age of sixty. Thus, in the case of a man aged twentyone, he would pay an annual premium of £2 10s. per annum for each £100 to receive at the age of fifty-six years, and a man of thirty years would pay £3 2s. for the same sum, and receive it at the age of sixty. The advantages of the pension over this alternative are so obvious that comment is unnecessary. Necessity fob Amendment of Certain Statutes. I beg to draw your attention to the statutes hereinafter mentioned which might be amended with benefit to the public and the police force : — "Licensing Act, 1881," section 149, and " The Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1881," section 5. —A clear and precise definition is required as to what shall constitute an unlawful game. In the present state of uncertainty on this head it is found to be impossible to obtain a conviction against publicans and others for permitting gambling with cards or dice. Many Magistrates decline to convict in the absence of such definition. The insertion of the following clause, taken from the old provincial licensing ordinances, would meet the case so far as publicans are concerned : " No person licensed under this Act as a publican, or holding an accommodation-house license, bottle or conditional license to sell liquors, shall suffer or permit gambling or playing at any game of chance in or upon his house or premises." This amendment to the existing law would tend to check an evil which is becoming common throughout the colony simply because it can now be carried on with comparative impunity. " Licensing Act, 1881," section 169. —This section deals with the sale of liquor to prohibited persons. This clause is at present a dead letter, for the reason that the persons supplying the liquor can rarely be discovered and punished. This difficulty might possibly be met were, section 171 altered so as to make it compulsory on prohibited persons when arrestod for drunkenness to disclose the name of the person who supplied them with liquor, and power given to punish contumacy under this section. Under the same section Magistrates have declined to convict a licensee when the liquor has been sold by a servant and proof has been given that the master instructed the servant not to serve the prohibited or drunken persons. This clause should be amended so as to leave no doubt that the maxim Bespondeat superior applied. If this is not done the intention of the Act as to indorsements on licenses will be cleverly defeated. I would suggest the following clause : " Any breach of section 169 by the servant of any licensed publican shall be deemed to be the act of the licensee, and punishable as such, notwithstanding that proof may be given that such servant acted in direct contravention of the | orders of his or her master or mistress." " Licensing Act, 1881," section 155.—1n a prosecution against the licensee of the Albion Hotel, Wellington, for having sold liquor during prohibited hours, the Eesident Magistrate dismissed the case on the ground that the license having been extended to 11 p.m. under the provisions of section 9, " Licensing Act Amendment Act, 1882," it was necessary to show that the unlicensed sale occurred after midnight, since, though provision is made in the Act of 1882 for an extension to 11 p.m., no penalty is provided for selling between that hour and midnight : Nor is it anywhere laid down that the house shall be closed during that hour: section 154 of the Act of 1881 deals only with 10 o'clock and midnight licenses. I would suggest that the section be amended by the addition of the following words : " Where, under 'The Licensing Act Amendment Act, 1882,' a license has been extended for the sale of liquors until 11 p.m., the licensed premises shall be closed on Saturday night from 11 o'clock until 6 o'clock the following Monday morning, and on the nights of all other days from 11 o'clock until 6 o'clock the following morning." Prosecutions instituted under this section have been frequently dismissed on the ground that a sale had not been proved, although it had been conclusively proved that liquor had been consumed on the premises at unauthorised times. I think that the offence of supplying liquor during prohibited hours should be added to the penal clause 149, and that all persons, not lodgers or travellers, found drinking or obtaining drinks at such times should be made amenable to the law. " Police Offences Act, 1884," section 21. —1 suggest the following amendment: After the word "drunkenness," add "or by reason of the excessive use of alcoholic liquors his or her mental faculties or bodily health is impaired." The necessity for this addition is that many Magistrates will not apply the provisions of the Act to persons arrested unless they are helplessly drunk. Persons on the verge of delirium tremens are held not to be drunk, and are consequently charged as lunatics, and remanded to the gaol for treatment and examination as such by medical men. This means generally a few days nursing at the expense of the country, when they are discharged without being called upon to pay the expenses incurred on their behalf, and are at liberty to repeat the performance as often as it may please them.